Sweet potato bake - Rachel

Best Sweet Potato Casserole

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Time to Make It

1 hour

 

This recipe for The Best Sweet Potato Casserole has a velvety sweet potato base and is topped off with a pecan streusel topping. It'll put candied yams to shame!

Author: Rachel Farnsworth

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE:

• 4 large dark skinned sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• ½ cup milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

PECAN STREUSEL TOPPING:

• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a boil. Add cubed sweet potatoes. Return to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer sweet potatoes until tender (15-20 minutes). Drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla. Add in cooked sweet potatoes and use a hand mixer to mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In medium bowl prepare the streusel topping. Mix the sugar and flour together. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Chocolate cake- Rachel

The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Time to Make It

45 mins

 

The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake is here. I call this my Matilda Cake because I swear it's just as good as the cake that Bruce Bogtrotter ate in Matilda. Moist, chocolatey perfection. This is the chocolate cake you've been dreaming of.

Author: Rachel Farnsworth

Yield: 3 9-inch rounds

Ingredients

The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake

• butter and flour for coating and dusting the cake pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1½ cups buttermilk
• 1½ cups warm water
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

• 1½ cups butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 7-8 cups powdered sugar
• about ¼ cup milk (as needed)

Instructions

The Most Amazing Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter three 9-inch cake rounds. Dust with flour and tap out the excess. (see cooking lesson below)
3. Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a stand mixer using a low speed until combined.
4. Add eggs, buttermilk, warm water, oil, and vanilla. Beat on a medium speed until smooth. This should take just a couple of minutes.
5. Divide batter among the three pans. I found that it took just over 3 cups of the batter to divide it evenly.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the cake meets the toothpick test (stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean).
7. Cool on wire racks for 15 minutes and then turn out the cakes onto the racks and allow to cool completely.
8. Frost with your favorite frosting and enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

1. In a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer for best results
2. Add in cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
3. Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add milk as necessary to make a spreadable consistency. The frosting should be very thick and will thicken even more if refrigerated.

Notes

METRIC MEASUREMENTS:
butter and flour for coating and dusting the cake pan
450 grams all-purpose flour
650 grams granulated sugar
155 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
17 grams baking soda
8 grams baking powder
11 grams salt
4 large eggs
350 ml buttermilk
350 ml warm water
115 ml vegetable oil
10 ml vanilla extrac

Vanilla cake

The Most Amazing Vanilla Cake is moist and flavorful and made completely from scratch. It's the best homemade vanilla cake you'll ever have! And it's easy to make too!

Author: Rachel Farnsworth

Yield: 3 layer cake

Ingredients

• ½ cup salted butter, softened
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1½ cups buttermilk, room temperature
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Grease three 9-inch pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the butter, vegetable oil, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
3. Add in flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until just combined. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything gets mixed in.
4. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let sit in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before layering and frosting with your favorite frosting.